Diagnostic Accuracy of a Bedside Screening Tool for Dysphagia (BSTD) in Acute Stroke Patients

Background and purposean estimated 40-80% of acute ischemic stroke patients have dysphagia and about 14% develop stroke-associated pneumonia. However, it may be difficult to detect swallowing problems at admission. Moreover, there might not be an on-duty specialist skilled in the diagnosis of this condition. This study aimed at developing a user-friendly bedside examination to identify the risk of dysphagia in stroke patients at hospital admission.Methodsa diagnostic accuracy study was carried out to assess the concurrent validity of a simple Bedside Screening Tool for Dysphagia (BSTD) in acute stroke. All the consecutive stroke patients admitted between January and April 2018 were enrolled. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV) and the Cohen K concordance index scores, reported by nurses and speech-pathologists, were assessed.Resultsa total of 67/120 patients (55.8%) were male; overall average age was 67.4 (range 45-91) and 80.8% of the whole population had a history of ischemic stroke. The nursing staff identified 33.3% of dysphagia cases at admission and the speech pathologists 30%. The Cohen K was 0.92 (optimal concordance when K was > 0.8), sensitivity was 100%, specificity 95.2%, PPV 90% and NPV 100%.Conclusionsour BSTD had a 100% negative predictive value, indicating that this screening test is very useful in ruling out/confirming dysphagia in acute stroke patients     

Effect of occlusal reduction on postendodontic pain: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised clinical trials

The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the effect of occlusal reduction on post‐operative pain following root canal treatment and was performed in accordance with the PRISMA statement being registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42018089941). Two reviewers independently conducted a systematic literature search in the PubMed (MEDLINE), Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source and the Cochrane Library databases. Seven studies were included, of which three were used to perform meta‐analysis for 6 days post‐operative and the rest for qualitative synthesis. Three studies were assessed as low risk of bias, three as some concern, and one as high risk of bias. Occlusal reduction diminishes the post‐operative pain (SMD ?1.10 (95%CI ?2.06, ?0.15) I² = 96.9%) at 6 days for teeth diagnosed as irreversible pulpitis, and, overall, likely reduces post‐operative pain for patients presenting with irreversible pulpitis and/or symptomatic apical periodontitis. Future high‐quality clinical trials are needed to better understand the role of occlusal reduction.     

IsdC from Staphylococcus lugdunensis Induces Biofilm Formation under Low-Iron Growth Conditions

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase-negative staphylococcus that is a commensal of humans and an opportunistic pathogen. It can cause a spectrum of infections, including those that are associated with the ability to form biofilm, such as occurs with endocarditis or indwelling medical devices. The genome sequences of two strains revealed the presence of orthologues of the ica genes that are responsible for synthesis of poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) that is commonly associated with biofilm in other staphylococci. However, we discovered that biofilm formed by a panel of S. lugdunensis isolates growing in iron-restricted medium was susceptible to degradation by proteases and not by metaperiodate, suggesting that the biofilm matrix comprised proteins and not PNAG. When the iron concentration was raised to 1 mM biofilm formation by all strains tested was greatly reduced. A mutant of strain N920143 lacking the entire locus that encodes iron-regulated surface determinant (Isd) proteins was defective in biofilm formation under iron-limited conditions. An IsdC-null mutant was defective, whereas IsdK, IsdJ, and IsdB mutants formed biofilm to the same level as the parental strain. Expression of IsdC was required both for the primary attachment to unconditioned polystyrene and for the accumulation phase of biofilm involving cell-cell interactions. Purified recombinant IsdC protein formed dimers in solution and Lactococcus lactis cells expressing only IsdC adhered to immobilized recombinant IsdC but not to IsdJ, IsdK, or IsdB. This is consistent with a specific homophilic interaction between IsdC molecules on neighboring cells contributing to accumulation of S. lugdunensis biofilm in vivo.     

Implantation of a completely subcutaneous ICD system: case report of a patient with Brugada syndrome and state of the art

Aims  

Complications of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy are often linked to transvenous lead insertion, lead failure, or infections. An entirely subcutaneous ICD system (S-ICD) avoids the need for the placement of electrodes within the heart and can provide clinical advantages.     

Trehalose/sodium hyaluronate eye drops in post-cataract ocular surface disorders

International Ophthalmology - Prospective, randomised, open-label, comparative study to evaluate efficacy of trehalose/sodium hyaluronate eye drops for post-operative discomfort and tear film...     

Hepatitis Status and Mortality in Hemodialysis Population

The role of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus infection in mortality among MHD patients is poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that HCV positivity is associated with significantly higher cardiovascular mortality, especially in dialysis patients younger than 65 years. However, little information is available in European renal registries about mortality among HBV and HCV positive MHD patients. We prospectively followed all patients (prevalents and incidents) attending the dialysis center in the Sicilian region since January 1, 1999, up to December 31, 2000. Those who died for any cause after the starting point were identified and included in the cases population. In all, 698 eligible cases were found. For each case, three controls extracted from the Registry were matched by age at death (within five years) and sex. We calculated the sample size of 698 cases and three controls for each case, assuming the power of the study to be 80%, with an estimated prevalence of exposure among controls of 3.0%. The χ² and the t-test were used to evaluate possible differences among cases and controls for the different variables under investigation. The ORs of the association between hepatitis infection and mortality, adjusted for each of the possible confounding factors, was calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel test. The prevalence of Hepatitis C (HCV) was much higher among case compared with controls, both in males (23.4%?vs. 17.7?%) and females (25.0%?vs. 22.4%). In the multivariate model, the association between HCV and mortality maintained a significant association only among women aged?<65 years with an OR of 1.77 (95%?CI: 1.12–2.79). We also observed a correlation between increased risk of mortality in hemodialysis and HCV-positive patients with a longer time on dialysis. Our results suggest that HCV positivity among MHD patients is associated with significantly higher mortality in female aged?<65 years. For this reason we should be more aggressive in identifying, preventing, and treating HCV infection among patients with end stage renal disease.     

Primary umbilical endometriosis. Case report and discussion on management options

INTRODUCTIONWe report a recently observed case of primary umbilical endometriosis (UE), with the main aim to discuss the management of this rare condition.PRESENTATION OF CASEA 24-year-old woman complained of a painful nodule on her umbilical region, bleeding with her menstrual cycle. Ultrasonography showed a hypoechoic superficial mass in the umbilicus and no signs of intra-abdominal endometriosis. Excision of the nodule under local anesthesia was performed. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of umbilical endometriosis. Neither symptoms nor signs of local recurrence have been observed after 24 months.DISCUSSIONUE should be taken into account in differential diagnosis of umbilical disorders even in young nulliparous women with no typical symptoms of pelvic endometriosis. Although there is a substantial agreement about the necessity of surgery, treatment options are either local excision of the lesion or removal of the whole umbilicus with or without laparoscopic exploration of the peritoneal cavity. The decision should be tailored for the individual patient, taking into consideration the size of the lesion, the duration of symptoms and the presence of possible pelvic endometriosis.CONCLUSIONLocal excision saving the umbilicus may be the treatment of choice in patients with small UE lesions.